Akari-Adamson nails breakthrough victory, keeps Power Smashers winless

Rookie Chiara May Permentilla and skipper Jema Galanza did the heavy lifting offensively and pushed the Akari-Adamson University Lady Falcons to their first win in the Premier Volleyball League Open Conference at the Power Smashers’ expense, 25-20, 24-26, 25-19, 25-22, at the FilOil Flying V Centre.

A transferee from La Salle-Lipa, Permentilla tallied a game-high 24 points after going scoreless in her first two matches. Galanza pitched in 17 points off 16 attacks and a block.

The Lady Falcons clawed out of a 20-all deadlock in the first set and finished on a 5-0 run. After dropping a tight second set, the Adamson rushed to big early leads in the following two sets. Tied at 13 in the fourth frame, the Lady Falcons raced to a 20-13 lead and protected their win through solid reception.

For Adamson’s American head coach Airess Padda, the Lady Falcons’ consistency was key in the match.

“I think I really stressed to them today the team that was gonna win today is the team that is gonna be more consistent. I think that’s been a really big problem for us and we knew that we were going up to a team that was similar to us, not in skill but just with the inexperience,” Padda told the media.

“I know most of those girls are NCAA college girls, and they also got Pacres from UST. She would be like equivalent to Jema, so I thought we were evenly matched in that area. But I do know that they make a lot of errors, just like us. So I just told them, tutok lang. That’s what they had to do today,” the American mentor furthered.

Adamson improved their record to 1-2 and will take on the University of the Philippines Lady Maroons (0-3) on Sunday in a battle of UAAP teams.

“That’s going to be a good game. I know that the UP I watched against Air Force is not going to be the team we face on Sunday. I know they’re going to be much better by then,” Padda mused.

Regine Arocha led the Power Smashers with 13 points, while lefty opposite hitter Dimdim Pacres added 11.

The Power Smashers slumped to the bottom of the standings with a 0-3 card. They face the Perlas-BanKo Spikers (1-2) on Saturday.

The Scores

Akari-Adamson (3) – Permentilla 24, Galanza 17, Flora 7, Perez 7, Soyud 7, Romero 4, Cruz 3, Joaquin 3, Caole 0, Uy 0, Ponce (L), Tempiatura (L)

Power Smashers (1) – Arocha 13, Pacres 11, Esguerra 10, Prado 9, Eulalio 5, Guillema 5, Bicar 2, Marzan 0, Villegas 0, Galang (L)